Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch partner with Hy-Vee to donate 26,000 gallons of water to Iowa communities affected by boil advisory

A water boil warning was issued last Friday for Creston and nine surrounding counties until further notice after the filtering system at the 12-Mile Treatment Plant had a failure.
Brian Powers, bpowers@dmreg.com

After donating 20,000 gallons of water June 4, Hy-Vee announced its supplier partners Pepsi Beverages Co. and Anheuser-Busch LLC will add more than 6,000 gallons of bottled water to southern Iowa communities affected by the ongoing boil advisory.

Bottled water was distributed Friday and Saturday to communities affected by a membrane filtration system failure at Creston's Twelve Mile Water Plant that has left thousands of Iowans without clean drinking water for more than a week.

This round of donations was supplied to the cities of Macksburg, Murray, Grand River, Ellston, Prescott, Lenox and Nodaway.

Earlier, Hy-Vee donated bottled water at their Creston, Bedford and Mount Ayr locations. They also brought the water to food pantries and fire departments in nearby communities.

The processing plant at Creston Water Works supplies water across the region to customers of the Southern Iowa Rural Water Association, so Creston's outage has left Iowans in at least nine counties without drinking water.

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Fred Franklin of Creston loads cases of water into his car outside Hy-Vee on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, in Creston. A water boil warning was issued last Friday for Creston and nine surrounding counties until further notice after the filtering system at the 12-Mile Treatment Plant had a failure.
(Photo: Brian Powers/The Register)

Customers have been advised to boil their tap water before consuming it. Officials have cautioned that the water supply may contain bacteria, viruses and parasites that can cause nausea, cramps, diarrhea and headaches.

The tap water is still suitable for bathing and safe for pets and livestock, Dan McIntosh, the general manager of the SIRWA and Creston Water Works' treatment plant, has previously told the Register.

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Brad Ringsdorf, 30 of Creston, transfers boiled water to other pots so workers can do dishes at A and G restaurant on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, in Creston. A water boil warning was issued last Friday for Creston and nine surrounding counties until further notice after the filtering system at the 12-Mile Treatment Plant had a failure.
(Photo: Brian Powers/The Register)

And the water plant crew has worked 12- and 18-hour days to mitigate the problem, he said.

A SIRWA update Sunday said the City of Creston had flushed the needed water mains and sent samples to a lab in Storm Lake for testing. The order was lifted for Creston water customers on Sunday evening. SIRWA expects to have sample results from other communities by late afternoon Monday. If the tests are good, the cities will be released from the water advisory, according to the release.